You mentioned, our Shaykh, that cologne is one of the intoxicating substances. Does this include things that are originally of that nature, which are used in some cooking ingredients or...

The questioner : The brother questioner said: You mentioned, may Allah reward you, that cologne is considered khamr (intoxicants) because it contains alcohol, which is the cause of its intoxication. Does this also apply to many substances that are originally intoxicating if used for a purpose other than the one for which they were made, such as gasoline and many of... or in some substances that contain alcoholic ingredients in their manufacture, such as vanilla, which is used in making sweets? And is the curse mentioned in the hadith applicable if the purchase is for the purpose of intoxication, or is the curse for everyone who deals in it, even for purposes other than intoxication, for example?

The Shaykh : There is also a recording containing a simplified answer to this question, and therefore, to save time, we will not lengthen the answer but will take from it what indicates the summary of the speech there. We said that alcohol is an intoxicant and is the original cause of khamr being intoxicating, so it is not permissible to sell or buy it absolutely, for any intention. This is detailed there, and we cited during the detail the hadith of Abu Talhah al-Ansari, who had a skin of khamr for his orphans. When its prohibition was revealed, he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him, "Should I turn it into vinegar?" He said: He was not permitted to turn it into vinegar, such that in the process of making vinegar there is a radical change to the essence of the khamr, and in that there is a benefit for these orphans. He said, "No, pour it out." So there is no way, ever, in Islam to permit the making of khamr, especially the making of the mother of khamr, which is alcohol, or its selling, or buying, or carrying, or the like, due to the arrival of authentic hadiths prohibiting that, and even cursing its doer. Knowing that this hadith stems from a Quranic principle: Therefore, if there is a type of alcohol that is not intoxicating, and this is what I do not know, then naturally it takes another ruling. And if there are other substances, as the questioner gave the example of gasoline, and this is a discussion that took place between me and one of our brothers on the road. I said, "My brother, I do not know that gasoline intoxicates, but it may narcotize. And I know from my personal experience that many people do not distinguish between the intoxicating substance and the narcotic substance. The intoxicating substance is khamr, whose origin is alcohol, while the narcotic substance has another ruling in Islam. It is sufficient in the difference between the two substances that khamr is forbidden, whether little or much, whether it intoxicates or not, as came in the authentic hadiths. Then, upon the one who drinks khamr, the hadd of flogging is established, at least forty lashes. As for the one who uses a narcotic, such as hashish, opium, and the like, this does not have a specified hadd in Islam, and rather the hadd returns to the opinion of the Muslim rulers, and that falls under the category of ta'zir (discretionary punishment). With that, the narcotic differs from khamr in that khamr is not permissible to use for medical treatment, because the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: As for the narcotic, it is permissible to use it in a small amount when there is a need, let alone when there is a dire necessity. Yes, the gasoline, excuse me, what I know is that it narcotizes. We feel it when we ride in a car and the car is a bit old, and this device called the carburetor, I do not know what this foreign name is, it starts to leak, it oozes gasoline to the outside, and the smell of gasoline enters the passenger, and he almost faints, meaning because of the heaviness of this smell. So the gasoline that I know is a narcotic. But if it is established by some of our brothers the chemists, after a precise examination of gasoline, that it is intoxicating, much like khamr, this is information we add to the previous information, and we include gasoline in the group of forbidden khamr.

The questioner : We stop the cars.

The Shaykh : Yes

The questioner : Then the cars stop!!